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He’s banking on being able to sell 1000 pies a day, which, at just under US$5 a pie, will give him a comfortable profit, he says.

It could work. Innovative and novel food exports often do well, according to the president of specialised food export marketing and consulting firm, Athena Marketing International, Peter Guyer. The markets may be smaller, therefore sales are lower, but the growth rate can be high, he says.

Garlo’s joins Australian cracker brand Tucker’s Natural and Vittoria Coffee in attempting expansion to the US. Coffee franchise Gloria Jeans is tip-toeing into the Starbucks-dominated US market, while Tasmanian baby food company Bellamy’s Organic plans to expand into the US and Britain in 2016.

America wasn’t on the cards until Garlick was called by Australian-born ex-Walt Disney executive Peter Boutros, who has wanted desperately to bring pies to the Americans.

“We met and just hit it off. No one knows anything about pies over there, but he reckons that they’ll go crazy for them."

Garlick’s brother and co-founder, Nathan, is in the US for 12 months working closely with Boutros, who also has a business partner. The four men have formed a company; each party has a 50 per cent stake.

“He’s got the marketing expertise and the business sense, and we’re providing the know-how and intellectual property," Garlick says.

It was much simpler and cheaper to set up a new store in the US than Australia in almost every way, Garlick says. Real estate, store design, staff wages, production and permits were all cheaper in the US. He’ll be paying staff a minimum wage of $9 an hour, compared to $18 here in Australia.

“People are keen and enthusiastic to work there. Getting good staff here that want to work in a pie shop is a constant battle."

He hopes to steer away from ‘the cheesy Aussie thing’, though the store will play on Australian culture and sport. He’ll include photos of Garlo’s favourite Australians, and there will be mention of our top quality beef.

Garlo’s has been experiencing significant growth here in Australia, signing distribution deals with Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines at the start of the year. Airlines demand constant variety, so he’s expanded the range to include Peking duck, Moroccan chicken, and chicken and chorizo pies. He starts supplying Virgin from next month, and is negotiating with several parties after a trade show in Dubai in February.

The Garlick brothers launched Garlo’s Pies in 2001, baking out the back and serving out the front of a shop in Maroubra, NSW.

They grew a network of 13 retail pie shops over the next five years before being squeezed by rising Sydney rents and wages.

“We started doing more wholesale, delivery services to kiosks and food vans, which was far less volatile."

Coles came knocking in 2009 and while Garlick was initially dubious, Garlo’s started supplying a few stores, before being asked to supply all of NSW.

“The first order was for 60 pallets of pies. We couldn’t even fit a single pallet in our factory, so we knocked a few walls out. It wasn’t an instant success, though. They hadn’t heard of us in some parts of NSW."

Garlick remedied that by spending $50,000 on a radio campaign, targeting his pie eating demographic. “I called in a few favours, though, so it was more than $250,000 worth of radio ads."

Todd Miller, who as the CEO of Aussie Inc has helped Australian brands break into the US market for the past five years, reminds aspirants that Americans have immense choice and opportunity to purchase food, and are patriotic consumers. However they are hungry for Australian cheese and organic brands, such as his client Tucker’s Natural, he says.

“The US is a tantalising market, but it’s a long, hard road. I liken it to an ultra-marathon. It’s about researching what sector of the market you want to occupy and working hard for many years to get there," he says.

Exporters shouldn’t assume that because Americans speak the same language that it’s easy to trade in the US, adds ‘Airport Economist’ Tim Harcourt.

“Americans are paid poorly, which reduces their consumer power. If I was Garlo’s Pies, I’d be writing a letter to the US Congress asking that wages be increased so that Americans can afford more pies."

Americans generally trust Australian food and brands, they like our clean, green image and perhaps most importantly, they are big eaters, Harcourt says.

Once you crack the US, be prepared to pour substantial investment into branding and promotion, Austrade CEO Bruce Gosper told the Australian Food and Grocery Council late last year.

“There’s a feeling among retailers and distributors that we tend to take our reputation for granted," he told the AFGC.

However it seems that Garlick’s down-to-earth approach works in his favour.

When Coles representatives speak to him in acronyms, he stops them. “I just say; ‘look mate, I don’t know what you just said. And I just want to keep this really simple, please’."

Garlick reveals he had a text recently from Russell Crowe, whom he knows through the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team (Crowe co-owns it, Garlick used to played for it).